Paris is the land of lights and the lie of freedom of expression!!
France stops Telegram founder in a scandal for using double action!
Afrasianet - Last week, the founder of Telegram, who was accompanied by his bodyguard and assistant, was arrested Saturday at Bourget airport north of Paris.
Durov, who has lived in Dubai for years and holds Emirati citizenship, arrived in Paris from the Azerbaijani capital Baku.
The 39-year-old French-Russian billionaire was remanded in custody as part of a judicial investigation opened by the National Judicial Authority against Organized Crime (Gonalco) on July 8 in connection with 12 crimes, according to a statement by Paris prosecutor Laure Picot.
The charges include refusing to provide the necessary information for legally authorized correspondence interceptions, complicity in crimes and organized crime on the platform (drug trafficking, child pornography, fraud and money laundering within the framework of an organized group) and providing cryptographic services aimed at ensuring confidentiality without a declaration guaranteeing the compatibility of the services with legislation.
The investigating judges in charge of this case tasked the Centre for Combating Digital Crime and the National Anti-Fraud Office to conduct investigations.
A source close to the file said investigators questioned his bodyguard and assistant and then released them.
While the arrest of the Telegram founder on French soil provoked many international reactions, Macron stressed that the move "was taken within the framework of an ongoing judicial investigation, not a political decision", stressing that it was up to the judges.
Macron denounced what he called "false information" against France over the arrest, claiming that his country "is and will remain fully committed to freedom of expression, communication and innovation".
The Kremlin spokesman said Moscow had not received any information from France about the reason for Durov's arrest, saying: "We do not know concretely what the charges against him are."
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the Russian embassy in Paris would begin to operate immediately as usual when Russian citizens were detained abroad.
As for the UAE, it confirmed that it is following up on the case of Durov, who was arrested in France.
For its part, Telegram stressed that Durov "has nothing to hide and he moves a lot in Europe without problems."
"It makes no sense to claim that a platform or its owner is responsible for its misuse," he said.
Telegram offers itself a "neutral" alternative to U.S. platforms that have been criticized for their commercial exploitation of users' personal data.
Telegram. A criminal façade or a communication platform for the oppressed?
In recent days, Telegram has risen to the forefront of technical events following the arrest of the platform's founder and CEO, Pavel Durov, in French territory following a series of charges against him.
The charges against Durov revolve around Telegram being a platform that has repeatedly refused to comply with authorities' orders and disclose usernames as part of ongoing investigations into several cases.
Telegram justifies its position that protecting freedom and user data is its top priority, so it described these accusations as false and baseless, but in light of these events, where does Telegram stand against criminal acts?
Telegram's rise to the top
Social networking applications usually rely on unique features that may not be found in others, and while platforms such as "Instagram" rely on powerful algorithms and various image features, "Telegram" has taken privacy as its endeavor, and provided a number of features that work to achieve maximum privacy for users at different times and situations.
Telegram, like many fast social media applications, uses two-party encryption, but the platform is not satisfied with the usual encryption algorithms, but relies on a composite set of its own algorithms for encryption, which are secret algorithms that cannot be viewed from outside the company.
In addition, Telegram makes it easy to create fake and secret accounts for users, as many data such as WhatsApp does not ask for or need an active and active phone number, only any phone number, and in some cases the phone number can be abandoned and the account can be created without it.
Telegram's various features have enabled the platform to reach a record number of users in 10 years, with the platform's total users exceeding 900 million by 2024, up from 45 million in 2014 when it first launched.
Telegram's privacy features aren't much different from those found on some other platforms, but the fact that these features come together in one platform is surprising what earned the platform its reputation for being a social media platform belonging to the Dark Web.
In Telegram you can access anything you want whatever its kind via the search bar above.
According to a report published by the cybersecurity site "Axios", the "Telegram" platform provides a range of features that are not found in the dark web, and these features include mechanisms of fast and direct communication, as well as receiving payments through various digital currencies, including the currency of the platform itself.
The activity extends to politically active groups, according to the Intel 471 report, as groups such as the "Electronic Quds Army" use it to showcase their work and attract users, in addition to their usual use of social media accounts, along with the "1877" team, which is believed to be a group of digital activists based in Iraq, because the platform is preferred there.
The Telegram platform imposes fewer restrictions on the content shared through it, and does not disclose user data, whatever the case against it, and in a previous incident with the New Delhi court, the platform did not disclose the full user data despite a court order to do so.
Perhaps these advantages contribute to providing a safe cover for residents of countries with high censorship, as they can through the platform safely share content and publish their ideas, and perhaps what was happening with the "Electronic Quds Army" and the ongoing Gaza war is a vivid example of this, as the platform was a safe platform in which the Palestinian resistance shared its news and clips without fear of prohibition or persecution.
Telegram takes a different approach to content management and follow-up, and although this approach leaves room for a lot of bad deeds, the good resulting from it is clearly visible in areas suffering from excessive persecution, so should the platform abandon its policy that distinguished it from day one to become like the rest of the social media platforms? Or is it preparing to face international criticism from various quarters for its flexible content management and revision policy? This is what the coming days and the pending trial of the platform's founder will reveal.
On Wednesday, the Novosti news agency published a video showing the moment Telegram founder Pavel Durov left the Paris court, after the prosecutor's office announced his release on bail of 5 million euros.
The Paris prosecutor's office announced on Wednesday evening that Telegram founder Pavel Durov had been released on bail of 5 million euros, placed under judicial control and banned from leaving France.
The Russian-born businessman is accused of six crimes, including running an online platform for illegal transactions, and faces up to ten years in prison. He is also suspected of not wanting to cooperate with the authorities.
Durov's detention sparked widespread public criticism in several countries. Against this background, French President Emmanuel Macron was forced to clarify his position, stressing that Durov's detention is not a political decision, and promising that the decision in his case will be made by the judges.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova noted that Moscow had sent a memo demanding contact with the businessman, but Paris considered his French nationality to be the main one.
Durov has passports from Russia, France, the United Arab Emirates and Saint Kitts and Nevis.
Russian Foreign Ministry: France tramples international standards in the field of freedom of expression
Commenting on the arrest of Pavel Durov, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova adds: "France is once again trampling international standards in the field of freedom of expression in the situation with the arrest of Telegram founder Pavel Durov.
This came at a press briefing by Zakharova, where she added that this "shows the real position of the French leadership, which crudely tramples on international standards in the field of protection of freedom of expression and opinion for one reason: because if they defend certain standards they must not only abide by them, but also protect and implement them."
AFP quoted a source close to the case as saying that Durov had been released and taken to a Paris court to find out his fate.
The Russian billionaire walked out of the anti-fraud office outside Paris in a police car on Wednesday afternoon. French investigating judges are due to decide whether to place Durov under formal investigation after his arrest as part of the investigation into the crimes against him, or release him.
Politico writes that French authorities had also issued an arrest warrant for Durov's brother Nikolai with him in March. When asked about the report, the prosecutor's office said it did not comment on arrest warrants because they were covered by the secrecy of the investigation. The only person being questioned at this stage is Pavel Durov, he said.
Placing a person under formal investigation in France does not mean guilt and does not necessarily lead to trial, but it does indicate that judges consider the case sufficient to move forward with an investigation that can last for years before the case is sent to trial or suspended.
If Durov, who has been in police custody since his arrest, is placed under formal investigation, judges will decide whether to place him in pre-trial detention or other precautionary measures, at which point judges will consider whether he can try to escape.
For its part, Telegram said that the company's CEO Pavel Durov has nothing to hide and travels a lot in Europe, adding that "it is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner is responsible for the misuse of that platform," and the company stressed its commitment to European Union laws, and that its amendments are made "in accordance with industry standards and constantly improving."
The French newspaper Le Canard Onchini reported that Telegram founder Pavel Durov told police he had come to Paris for dinner with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace.
The French presidential palace denied this, saying that "that evening, the president was in Le Touquet".
Commenting on the French newspaper, Florian Filippo, head of the Patriot party, asked: "Did the French president set a trap for Drouf? He is capable of everything to finish the mission of his masters just like what Sarkozy did when he bombed Libya and killed Gaddafi because he knew so much? Did Macron put Badrov in jail because he knows a lot?"
"Reports suggest that Macron and his aides use Telegram more than any other platform."
François Assilino, president of the UPR party, commented: "We were wondering why Dhruve threw himself into the wolf's mouth by coming to Paris, and now the newspaper article has revealed the secret."
It is noteworthy that the French authorities arrested Durov at Le Bourget airport in Paris on August 24, noting that Durov, who holds French citizenship, was on the list of persons wanted by France, and has been placed in temporary detention.
According to French media, the French judiciary believes that there are reasons including Telegram's refusal to cooperate with the country's authorities.
Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev said Durov made a grave mistake by leaving Russia to become a "man of the world."
In turn, the Wall Street Journal confirmed that French President Emmanuel Macron offered Telegram founder Pavel Durov to move the company's headquarters to Paris, but the latter refused.
At a dinner in 2018, Macron suggested to Durov to move Telegram's headquarters to Paris but Durov refused.
This issue has turned into a resounding scandal of French hypocrisy, which is no different from the American and European hypocrisy regarding the lie of freedom of expression, and this is not the first hypocrisy in which hypocrisy comes from the top of the state pyramid, whether in France or let's say on the Atlantic side in general.